Hermione's Surprise
by Anika Cobriana
Summary: Hermione has a surprise for Draco, but is it one that he will like or not!


Hello everyone and welcome to the first story I've written in 12 years. I hope you enjoy!

It's with the slow ticking of a clock that she becomes aware that she's running out of time.

Hermione was nervous, her footsteps a constant thud upon the wooden floor; with how many times she trod upon it this evening, she's surprised how pristine it still looks. _That's housing charms for you. Not a spot of dirt._

She paces past the front door once more. _How am I supposed to tell him? _She thought, her mind circling back to her husband. She glances at the clock, a quarter past seven. _He's late. _Her pacing renews with fervor.

_How did this even happen, we were so careful. _Hermione sweeps curling tendrils of hair away from her face and back into her twist; she can't stop trembling.

The sound of the Floo going off in the sitting room surprises her. Hermione stops abruptly, Draco was home from work, why she thought he'd walk through the front door, she had no idea. _Are you or are you not a witch? Blimey, of course, he's going to use the Floo. _She stands in the entrance hall, frozen.

" 'Mione?"

_No time like the present_. Hermione took a deep breath and walked to the front room, where Draco was busy removing his outer robe.

"You're home late, work busy?" Hermione greeted, giving him a kiss on the cheek and waved her wand, casting a quick _Scorgify _at the soot still clinging to him.

He gives her a grateful look, "Yeah, there's been more Death Eater movement lately," Draco replied, moving to the coat closet. "We had a situation up in Leeds; a group of Death Eaters thought it would be a good idea to go after a family of muggles. It took Harry, Roger, Dean, Sophie and I three hours to round them all up. Then, _of course_, we had to call in the Obliviators to sort out the memories." He sunk into the couch, too exhausted to be standing around. "Not to mention the _paperwork_." Draco pushes up the sleeves of his white office shirt and brushes his hand through his disheveled hair, messing it up even more so.

"That sounds like quite the mess," Hermione comments absentmindedly, nervously thinking about what she had to tell Draco. Her tongue flicks out and wets her lips reflexively in a show of her bubbling nerves.

"I'm just ready for a relaxing night, dinner, and _maybe_ some reading before bed. How does that sound, love?" He looked at her hopefully, his arms reaching out to snag her blouse and pull her towards him. Hermione allows him to tug her onto the sofa next to him, slipping her flats off; she lets him lift her legs to rest on his lap. Draco stretches his arm behind her head and takes out the clip holding her riotous curls up. "That's better," He smirks at her.

Hermione shakes her head and huffs out a laugh. Her hands reach up to comb out some of the kinks tangling her locks and tries to think of something to say that won't ruin his mood, but, either way, she knows that what she has to say was going to change the lighthearted atmosphere regardless.

"About that, the relaxing night you wanted, I don't think that's going to be possible. I…I have something to tell you, and I don't know how you're going to take it." She pulls in a quick breath to calm her nerves and the pounding in her heart. "It kinda has me a little scared, to be honest." Hermione's fingers stall in her hair, snagging on a particularly gruesome knot. Draco moves to help her, but she pulls away abruptly. His hand hangs in the air for a moment before he lets it land in his lap awkwardly. Hermione never pulled away from him, not since their Hogwarts days.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, his brows furrowing, and a panicked look crosses his face as his back goes ramrod straight. "You're not leaving, are you?" He asked, worriedly, pulling away further from her. He stands up, and her feet flop back onto the sofa.

"_No_, no, no, nothing like that," Hermione's eyes widen as she rushes to assure him, shaking her head at his irrational thinking. "You know that I would never leave you, Draco."

"Why don't you sit back down on the couch?" Hermione gently pulls on his pant leg until he settles back next to her, slowly calming down. She shuffles closer, "Umm, I don't even know how to say this without upsetting you. I never meant for this to happen without talking to you about it first." She swallows harshly, her hands knotting together. " I—I…I'm…" Her voice breaks.

"Hermione, love, calm down, nothing you could do or say is going to upset me," Draco took her hand in his and kissed her wrist.

"I just…I don't want you to be angry with me." The words are hoarse coming from her mouth, as though she had been talking for ages instead of a few minutes.

"Just out with what you want to tell me, and we can go from there." His hand was like a balm to her worries, warm and steady. It soothed her, just a little. Enough so that she was able to get the next few words out without bursting into tears.

"Well, as you know, I haven't been feeling well lately, so I went to see a healer today."

"Is everything alright? It's nothing serious, is it?" Draco interrupts, his mind going to the extreme. She was always the more even-keeled in their relationship, the fact that she looked like she was about to be sick didn't help his imagination; in fact, it only fueled the fires further.

"It's serious, but nothing is going to happen to me, not yet anyway." Hermione looked away and chewed on her thumbnail momentarily, before taking a deep breath and looking back up at him.

"Out with it, Hermione, you're scaring me." Her words did nothing to cool his rising panic.

"Okay, rip it off like a plaster, right?" Hermione took another deep breath and ignored Draco's look of confusion (he mouths the word 'plaster' to himself as though if he said it enough times, he'd find out what it was) and looks him in the eyes, concern, and apprehension showing on her face.

"Draco, we have been _so_ careful, so I don't know how this happened. I don't want you to be angry with me, and if—"

"_Hermione."  
_  
"I'm pregnant." She blurted out and watched as he just— froze.

Draco sat there for what felt like hours but could have only been a few minutes, processing the news that he was going to be a father. Absorbing the fact that there was now a life growing inside of his wife. That _they _were going to be —

"I'm _so_ sorry, I knew you weren't going to be happy about this. I'm just…_sorry_, I know you're not ready for this yet, and _I'm_ not ready. We haven't even talked about this, and I'm just so sorry that I let this happen, I must've missed a dose of my contraceptive potion or— or botched the brew somehow. " Hermione had tears swimming in her eyes as she babbled, and her breathing was coming out in shallow pants, Draco still not having made any indication of what he was thinking. "You can leave if you want to, I don't want to trap you in something that you don't want." Her breath hitches midway, dread winding around her heart the longer he's unresponsive. "Draco, I'm so sor—"

"Hermione, stop." Her breath catches, and her mouth closes with a clack. _This is it_, her mind whispers to her, _This is where everything collapses. _

"I'm not going anywhere."

_Oh._

Her inner voice stutters to a stop as Draco pulls her into a hug, his arms winding around her like two steel bands, steady and reliable in trying to calm her down. "I'm happy about this, I was just a little… stunned for a few moments there. We're gonna be parents!" Hermione sags in relief and guilt slowly bubbles up, how could she think he would leave her? He _married_ her for Merlin's sake!

"I thought…"

"That I would be angry? Leave? 'Mione…" He pulls back, just enough for her to look at him as he says forcefully, _"Never. _You could _Avada Kedavra_ the Minister, and I _still_ wouldn't leave._"_ Hermione looks at him, incredulous.

"Well, maybe ask if we should see a Mind-healer after I sprung you from Azkaban," He amends, "—but _leave _you? Love, it's you and me until the end; and now it's you, me _and _the baby." Hermione smiles at him, her tears slowly drying.

"I love you." She says softly, and he snorts as they lean back into the sofa, her head upon his chest.

"I sure bloody hope so after that speech." Hermione's hands swat his chest as it rumbles with suppressed laughter.

They sit in the quiet a little longer staring at the fireplace, and the flames flicker and cast shadows across their thoughtful faces.

Draco breaks the silence, "How far along are you?"

"Just over ten weeks," Hermione whispers, not wanting to break the quiet. "I can't believe I didn't catch this sooner." Her fingers fiddle with the buttons on his shirt, " I guess I've been so busy lately that I didn't even realize that I missed my menses."

"That's okay, it's in the past, and now we have a future to look forward to with this baby. This is a good thing, you'll see." He says, just as softly. "I want to come to the next appointment with you; will we be able to see the baby?" He asked, his hand softly stroking her stomach.

"I would assume so, but my next appointment isn't for another six weeks. Can you wait that long?"

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to." Draco smiled and pulled Hermione closer against his side. "I'm really excited about this baby Hermione. Yes, we weren't planning on this right now, but it happened; it's _still _happening, and I'm looking forward to it."

"Thank you for not being upset, I was so worried that you would be."

"Never, Mione, never." He whispers against the crown of her head, and their hands intertwine over her abdomen.

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5 1/2 months later

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Small puffs of air brush against her skin as Hermione cradles her daughter close. Exhaustion racks her frame, but the idea of putting Lyra, her beautiful daughter, down never crosses her mind.

"Merlin's beard, " she whispers, a finger rising to touch the tiny fist curled up against her heart, "They're so tiny, Draco."

His head raises from where he was staring down at brown waves mushed under a blue cap, the name 'Caelum' embroidered on the front. "I know; Potter's kid wasn't this small, was he?" Draco's gaze darts back down to the babe nestled in his arms worried Caelum might disappear if he looks away too long. His grip tightens before he quickly loosens it when Caelum starts fussing. Draco stands and slowly rocks his son, as he makes a small circuit around their suite in the St. Mungos Maternity Ward.

Hermione purses her lips, turning her gaze away from Lyra's already kinky-blonde-curls, "No, James wasn't this tiny." Hermione locks eyes with her husband, her mind already pulling at the information floating around in her head, "But, multiples are always a wee-bit smaller because they have to share the nutrients as opposed—"

"—as opposed to a single babe getting it all." He finishes. They share a smile, and Hermione flushes softly at his fond utterance of, "Little Miss Know-it-all."

Taking another go around the room, Draco glances back at his wife, mussed hair and sweat drying against her brow; she's never been more beautiful, skin glowing, eyes warm, and a soft smile upon her face.

"Think it was worth it?" He says softly, a wry smile lingering in the corners of his mouth.

Without looking up, she scoffs softly. "Of course it was, could've done without the pain, though." She looks up and catches his disbelieving expression.

"Without the pa— Merlin, 'Mione, you nearly crushed my bloody hand to death."

Hermione's mouth drops open, affronted, "You wanna push two small watermelons out of your…" she gestures vaguely in his direction, and at his disturbed expression, she comments pointedly, "Thought not."He shakes his head, amused, and continues rocking Caelum.

Hermione's gaze lingers upon them, "But yes, I'm glad I got pregnant, we mightn't have talked about it before, or even planned to, but I like to think it was meant to happen now," She says tenderly, stroking Lyra's back.

"…Yeah?"

A smile flits across her face, "Yeah."

A soft silence settles in the room. Only the small huffs and puffs of two newborns and the treading of rubber soles against stone floor echo in the suite.

"We should let people in to see them now, huh?" Hermione says, reluctant to let go of this peaceful moment.

Draco smirks knowingly at her. "Probably."

Catching his smirk, Hermione rolls her eyes as he walks towards her bed.

Draco laid Caelum in the bassinet next to Hermione's bed, before walking out of the room. He came back in a few minutes later with both of his parents, Harry and Ginny. Narcissa's face lit up at the sight of her new grandchildren with Lucius right behind her, looking like the proud grandfather that he was.

"Can I hold her, Hermione?" Narcissa asked quietly, walking over to Hermione's bed, her fingers trembling as they brush Lyra's back. Hermione shifts in the bed, turning Lyra over off her chest. They both still at the small whine that passes from the babe between them. It's for a frozen second that they both held their breath and watched as blue-grey eyes fluttered open. "Look at those eyes," Narcissa whispered reverently as she held her first granddaughter. She sits beside Hermione on the bed so that they can both see her scrunched up face. "They're so much like Draco's—" She pauses.

Lyra squirms for a moment before settling as her tiny, pink hat moves to reveal more of her downy-soft ringlets.

"—but those curls are all yours, my dear." Narcissa teases gently, her fingertips grazing a riotous curl.

Small footsteps steps sound, and a mane of red hair walks around the bed to the pram holding a blue bundle.

"Can I hold him?" Ginny asks, staring into the bassinet where Caelum lays, her fingers splayed over the edge and hands twitching with the force of her excitement.

"Of course you can, Gin. Just be careful, please." Hermione cautions as she sits up, new feelings of protectiveness slowly unfurling from the depths of her heart.

"Hermione, you forget that I have my own little one at home," Ginny replies, laughing at her friend's mother-henning. She picks Caelum from the bassinet and cradles him in her arms. "I know how to handle a newborn."

"I know you do Gin, but he's just so little. I don't remember James ever being this small."

"Draco, have you and Hermione chosen names yet?" Lucius askes, standing by his wife. His hand moves to rest on Narcissa's shoulder, his eyes locked on one of the very few female Malfoys born to their bloodline. She was beautiful.

"Mum, you're holding Lyra, and Ginny, you have Caelum," Draco replied, leaning up against the wall by Hermione. He looks down at the hand that lands on his clasped hands before he releases them and grasps Hermione's palm against his.

"He looks like you, Hermione," Harry comments, standing next to Ginny and running a finger along Caelum's skin, tracing the contours of his face and the soft plains of his cheeks, still red from birth.

"He really does, Harry," Hermione laughs softly, looking over at Ginny holding onto Caelum. "We each have a mini-me now." She glances up at Draco to catch him smiling at the babies, they lock eyes, and he lifts her hand up so that he may brush his lips across her knuckles.

"How does it feel to be a mother now?" Ginny interrupted, staring at them with amusement glistening in her eyes.

"It feels amazing," Hermione replied, loving the fact that she was now a mother. "It's the best feeling in the world, just to know that these babies are a part of Draco and me."

"I know the feeling. When I had James, I couldn't believe how amazing it felt to hold him."

"I remember when I had Draco," Narcissa said, joining the conversation. "It was the best day of my life. He was such a cute little boy, he looked just like Lucius even then."

"May I hold my grandson now, Mrs. Potter?" Lucius asks rhetorically, walking over to where Ginny was standing with Caelum and Harry, hands stretched out.

"Here you go, Mr. Malfoy," Ginny replied dryly as she and Harry share a look, handing Caelum over to him.

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter."

"Would you like to hold Lyra, Harry?" Narcissa asked, walking over to where Harry was standing.

"I would, thank you, Mrs. Malfoy." Harry took Lyra from Narcissa, being careful to cradle her head just right. Her small body nestling in the crook of his arm.

"They're both so beautiful." Ginny gushed, peeking at Lyra over Harry's shoulder.

"Thanks, Ginny," Hermione said, smiling and laying back on the bed.

"They really are beautiful," Harry said, looking down at Lyra. "Makes me want to have more kids. What do you think, Gin?" Harry looked up at Ginny with a questioning look on his face.

"I think _this_ is something we can discuss more at home, Harry," Ginny replied, the idea already rolling around in her head.

"I can't still can't believe I'm a father now," Draco said, and Harry snorts.

"Yeah, me neither, mate."

"Oy, watch it scar-head." Harry looks at him innocently as Ginny pokes his bicep pointedly.

"Well, I, for one, am thrilled to be a mother," Hermione interjects swiftly, looking up at Draco reproachful. "I love it." She stares at him until he slumps back against the wall. Her gaze is still upon him as Draco locks eyes with Harry, so she misses when Harry mouths, 'whipped' at her husband.

"You both are going to have your hands full with two newborns," Ginny said, looking to Hermione and Draco. "One was bad enough, with all the midnight feedings and crying at all hours of the day and night. You've got double the trouble!"

"Ginny's right, Draco was a right handful when he was a baby." Narcissa chimed in. "I can't imagine what these two are going to be like if they take after their father."

"I think you're downplaying how our son was as a baby." "Lucius laughed. "He was a nightmare."

"I don't think he was quite that bad, Lucius," Narcissa replied. "He was a handful, yes, but not a nightmare. Besides, it was _me_ that was always waking up with him in the night, you got to sleep right through it all."

"_You're_ the one that insisted on waking up with him," Lucius protests, trying to preserve his character. "I tried helping you, but you didn't want it."

"Yes, well, you still could've helped," Narcissa sniped.

"Son, this is a lesson for you," Lucius said, looking over to where Draco was. "Whenever Hermione tells you that she doesn't need help with the babies, don't listen to her and help anyway."

"I think I'm going to be okay," Draco chuckled, looking at Hermione's amused face.

"James was an easy baby." Ginny piped up, changing the topic. "He always went to bed good and slept through the night starting at 2 months. He was quite the sleeper during the day too."

"Well, I'm hoping at least one of these babies will be easy," Hermione replied, yawning.

"I think we all best be off now," Lucius said, handing Caelum over to Hermione. "It looks like Hermione could use the rest. I'm sure Draco could use some rest as well."

"Rest sounds heavenly right now," Hermione said, looking over to Draco for confirmation.

"That sounds like a good idea to me as well," Draco said, nodding to Hermione. "Could I please have my daughter, Harry?"

"Of course you can," Harry said, handing Lyra over to Draco. "We'll leave you guys to rest."

"Thank you all for coming, it was good to see you all," Hermione said, bidding goodbye to her in-laws and her two best friends.

"Have a good night, Draco and Hermione," Narcissa said, blowing a kiss towards her new grandbabies.

Narcissa and Lucius walked out of the room first. Ginny was kissing the twins' heads before she and Harry headed for the door.

"Potter, Ginny, wait a minute," Draco said, "Hermione and I have something to ask you."

"Oh, that's right," Hermione says, surprised she even forgot about it. "Harry, Gin. Would you be willing to be godparents to our children?"

"We would be _honored_ to be godparents!" Harry exclaimed, looking over to Ginny to see her face light up.

"I would love to, Hermione!" Ginny squealed, her hands fluttering over her chest. "Oh, now I'm even more excited for these babies."

"Thank you, both of you," Harry said, sounding a bit choked up at the thought of being a godfather.

"As excited as we both are, we should be going." Ginny sighed, not wanting to leave anymore. "You guys need your rest."

"That we do, but 'Mione needs it most of all. She's the one who's done all the work today."

"We love you all four of you, see you soon," Harry said, waving at the Malfoy family.

"Same to you both," Hermione said, waving back.

"As wonderful as it sounds, I don't think we'll be getting any rest for quite some time now," Draco said, taking a seat in the chair next to the bed.

"I think you might be right, love," Hermione said, looking at Draco in all his disheveled glory. "It's all worth it, though."

"I agree," He comments softly, looking down at Lyra. "Wouldn't change it for the world."

And that's it everyone, I really hope you enjoyed it! I know it's only a one-shot, but I need to ease back into writing, if I plan on continuing. I love getting reviews and constructive criticism, but please no flames. I was assigned to write a story by my behavioral therapist while in residential treatment for my depression and I'm so glad that she did; it's helped a lot to start writing again. I have to give a shoutout to my absolutely AMAZING beta, PrideBeforeTheFall. She was so helpful and just wonderful to work with, I couldn't have finished this without her.

Anika Cobriana


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